Beep, beep...beep, beep...beep, beep.

I flung a hand out to silence the incessant noise before cracking an eye open. And it really was cracking, there was enough gritty sleep crusting my eyelids to sink a battleship. Once that issue was addressed I lay back and looked up through the rooflite, not raining and the thin cloud cover suggested it would be a fair day.

A smug little smile formed on my face as I relived last night, well the bit where Max and I, you know, had a bit of a make out session out on the patio. So okay it wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined it but after a week of ‘celibacy’, a few minutes of smooching was quite a tonic. However I could only put off the inevitable for so long, just beating Mum’s encouragement to rise.

“You getting up kiddo?”
“Already up!” I called back as I debated black bra or white.
“Coffee’s on.”
“’kay.” how can she be so chipper at this time of the morning?

“Where’s Dad?” I enquired when I eventually got to the kitchen – well I couldn’t find anything to wear could I?
“Having a lie in,” Mum replied as she flipped through Radsport.

Dad staying in bed beyond seven is a note on the calendar but I guess it was a long day yesterday – I think it was almost ten thirty when he and Mand got home or was it later? I think Max had already left so maybe it was closer to eleven. Bit of a bugger though, I was hoping for a lift this morning.

“So what’re you up to today?”
“Apart from a huge pile of washing?”
“I said I’d do it,” I interrupted.
“And I said I would,” she asserted, “session with the girls after lunch.”
“Right,” I allowed.
“Guessing your hedging for a lift this morning?”
“Erm,” am I really that transparent?
“Well get your bum in gear, the bus leaves in ten minutes.”

“Whoa!” Con opined when she arrived with her dad and the day’s bread.
“What?”
“Looks like you caught the sun.”
“A bit,” I agreed, well a lot really, my German tan has developed into something of a much darker hue in Spain although I could do without the cyclists hands, you know, pale from wearing mitts with a dark spot on the back from the open back.
“So how was it, you know, Espana?”
“Hot obviously,” I started.

It might only be a week that I’ve been away but it still seemed pretty weird swapping riding Spanish mountains in thirty degrees to cooking Pommes in Altenahr. On the one hand it was neat being back with Con and Nena but I’d forgotten how tiring just being stood can be. When I heard the familiar putt-putt of Max’s mofa I was more than ready for a break.

“Urgh!” I declared, “my feet are killing.”
“I thought you’re supper fit?” Max suggested poking a frite into the dollop of mayo on his plate.
I eased my shoes off and reached down to give my toes a rub, “its different to being stood all day.”
“Here, maybe this’ll help,” he poked a chunk of his Currywürst at me.
I’ve been resisting all morning but that was too much, I grabbed his hand and guided the tasty morsel into my mouth, “hmmm.”
“Hey!” he complained as I relieved him of the fork and speared more sausage.
“What?”
He let out a sigh, “I wasn’t that hungry anyway.”

“So, later?” von Strechau hinted as I finished his Currywürst off, well I left him most of the Pommes.
“Later?”
“You fancy a walk, you know, the vineyard?”
Hmm, tempting. My time to allow a sigh, “can’t, I’ve got cheer, Monday remember?”
“Could come and meet you?” he suggested.
“And Mand and P?”
“Oh well.”
“We can go tomorrow,” I offered in turn, “I’ve got training but I’m free after.”
“Sounds promising.”
“What are you two plotting?” Nen enquired joining us.
“Just a walk up the fitness thing,” I told her.
“And they say romance is dead,” Nena stated.
“So what’s up?” I queried in turn.

Well apparently the coffee machine was up and my technical skills were required to sort it out. Max made himself scarce, I’m not actually sure what he does, Max things I guess. Anyhow, the machine wasn’t doing anything like producing coffee, just making a lot of noise and flashing error symbols.

“I just pushed for milk coffee,” Nen told me.

I sighed and opened the front, a quick check of the pipes, hit the reset button and close the door.

“That should sort it,” I announced.
“What did you do?” Con asked.
“Nothing really, just reset it.”
"That it? So why’d it go loopy?” Nen queried.
“Think it was confused, it did the same to me the other week, I think it wanted to do a self clean at the same time I pressed the button for coffee.”
“Phew, for a minute I thought I’d blown it up.”
“Glad to be back Gabs?” Con chuckled.

And do you know, I actually was. Cheer, work – even training, getting back into the routine after the Spanish excursion felt good, gave me some purpose.

“Come on slow coach!” I called back down the track.
“You cheated,” Max puffed back.
“I do so not cheat.”
“If you say so, hang on a bit.”

To be honest I’d stopped because my trainer had come undone anyway so I attended to that as I waited for von Strechau to reach me.

“Gotcha!”

Even though I knew he was coming, when Max grabbed me around the waist I was slightly surprised and gave a very girly squeal. When he started tickling me I started aimlessly batting at him.

“Give over!”
“What’s it worth?”
“Anything, just stop.”
“Anything?”
“Yes! Now give over,” I told him as I squirmed under the attack.

The tickling ceased and I found myself pulled against him whereupon his lips found their way onto my neck – oh boy!

“Not here.”
“Why not, there’s no one about,” he got out around chewing at my ear.
“Frau Holdorf?” I suggested.
“She does seem to always turn up,” he agreed.
“Come on, I know somewhere a bit more, er private.”

And so I half dragged him further up the hillside before turning between the rows of vines.

“I’ve missed this,” Max allowed some time later as we lay watching the clouds scud across the blue above us.
“Its only been a couple of weeks,” I observed.

To be honest I’ve missed it too, being held, kissed, the touching and yes even his playing with my nose ring. Okay that last one is a bit weird but Max seems to like it and other than being a bit tickly its pretty harmless. Who would’ve thought nose licking could be so, er sensual?

“You’ve not missed making out?”
“Never said that,” I countered.
“Summer’s nearly over.”
“And?”
“We’ll have to find somewhere less er exposed to do this.”
“I guess.”
“Well that's if you want to?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You might meet someone else, lots of lads in Koblenz.”
“Should I be looking?” I teased as I raised myself onto my elbows.
“Well I’m not.”
“Didn’t think you swung that way.”
“Eh?”
“Lads, you said there were a lot in Koblenz,” I giggled.

I blush at the drop of an innuendo, Max was even quicker now!

“I er, wasn’t, you know...”
“Oh shut up,” I interrupted before rolling over and planting my lips against his kissing gear.

“There you are,” Dad mentioned when I slunk indoors.
“Here I am,” I agreed.
“Helmut rang while you were ‘amusing’ yourself with Max.”
Dad has such a way with words, “oh?”
“Can you wear your fancy Kostum tomorrow and maybe lend Mand your other one?”
“I guess,” I allowed, “did he say why?”
“Something about it being the last one of the coach trips.”
I shrugged, “fair enough, suppose I’d best run an iron over it.”
“Oh I had Frank Obermeyer on the phone earlier.”
I raised a brow, should I know who that is? “yeah?”
“We were talking about Canada, the World’s?”
“Ah, that Frank Obermeyer.”
“That Frank Obermeyer,” he confirmed.
“So what about Canada? We aren’t driving are we?”
“Don’t be so daft kiddo, you’ll be flying.”
“thank heavens for that, hang on, what do you mean, i’ll be flying, what about you?”
“We’ve decided that I won’t be going.”
“Won’t be going? What do you mean, you always go, what about Mum?”
“BC haven’t selected her kiddo.”
“But she’s the reigning champion,” I pointed out.
“It wasn’t my decision Gab.”
“So I go on my own?”
“Well not quite, you’ll be travelling with the rest of the team, Roni’s going and Anja.”
“What about Gret and Tal?”
“Just Tali, oh and that Beyer girl from the championships.”
“Izzy? Came third?”
“That’ll be her.”
“That it? No one else?”
“’fraid not kiddo, the German’s don’t have BC’s budget.”

Maddy Bell © 09.07.2018